Just be Friends
by Odeath
Summary: Kuroro learns one day that his marriage has already been arranged a very long time ago. His supposed wife who was also devastated to learn her untimely marriage is eager to have him sign her petition for separation. Kuroro refuses. Kuroro x OC
1. Evidence

Author's note:

I don't own HxH but I wish I did.

_Prologue:_

_This is not a Love Story._

"_So you just don't believe it huh?" she asked. _

"_took you too long to figure out." he answered arrogantly. _

"_Which part of it?" she asked one more time, ever so patient she was. _

"_Everything, from the family ties to the marriage bonds"_

"_Well, if you don't believe it, then why are you here?" her voice came out so gentle and tranquil. _

"_Why are you here talking to me?" _

"_Because.." and that was all he could say as his voice faded along with his thoughts. _

...

"Everything, I am afraid, leads to you sire" The old and kindly looking gentle man said as he straightened up, placing his documents inside his leather suitcase.

Kuroro scanned through the pages of a thick black binder which contained paper evidences, news paper clippings and photographs. The papers were compiled meticulously by the old man himself. It contains a very fragile and confidential case, and finally it met its completion.

"It doesn't look all too convincing" the handsome raven haired man stated, quickly glancing at the photograph of a young woman. "This doesn't prove anything"

It was just a week ago when Kuroro received a message, something trivial which led him to meet up with this old man in a town not too far from where he was staying. The old man he was talking to happened to be the keeper of the said establishment. And what a grand library it is, Kuroro was very impressed with the book collections. He was intrigued and of course he cannot help but feel a little excited for he had all things fictional or restricted to himself alone that day. It was of course closed on Sunday. And it was however, a beautiful Sunday.

"I understand, I should have considered your feelings.." Bart croaked, taking out a neat white handkerchief and cleaning the lenses off his gold framed glasses.

"Hn.. feelings?" Kuroro's tone was sarcastic, When did he have feelings anyway. Bart looked up at the handsome young man in front of him. He was disguised to fit into the crowd, He looked amiable and friendly. With his ebony hair down and his attire in an elegant white shirt and black pants. He would have never thought that a handsome young man like he is would be the head honcho of the most notorious group of thieves in history.

"I am fully aware of standing I am currently in" Bart cleared his throat, evidently brave and unafraid despite the fact that he standing face to face with a man who is yet to be the most cold hearted killer alive. "but I wouldn't approach you if it wasn't a matter of life and death"

"This.." Kuroro pertained to the black binder, holding it up with his right hand, "this is a matter of life and death to you?" it was a petty speculation, a theory, an assumption and most importantly, it was not true.

_Then again maybe it was all too good to be true. _

"Tis my life's work sire, and yes. The truth is always a matter life and death, to me at least"

"I know who you are, Bartholomew Hahnzeis, a lot of people like me owe you, then again you must have been paid beforehand graciously to have come to me"

"No, my client is very different from the ones I've had before. And No, I am doing a massive favor, free of charge. And the fact that I am graced by you, you should say and that I am working with no money involved whatsoever.. consider this as my way of penance for all the things I've done in my past"

"These are not facts.." it wasn't like him at all, Kuroro didn't have the time for Bart's humor, he was usually calm and controlling. But the strain and the effort that he exerts just to show how he is not affected at all by all these things laid out in front of him shows albeit not too obvious, but certainly to the keen.

"That year sire, your age, the dna samples, the series of events, the plane.. the place of landing.. " Bart persuaded in mild protests.

"Do you expect me to believe _this_? Just because you managed to come up with paper clippings in chronological order, Mr. Hanhzeis, with all due to respect to your craft, you should have known better" Kuroro said flatly. With the deep sigh he gently threw the black binder on the dark wood oak table.

"I merely gathered the information. Tis not my concern however if you choose to believe it or not" Bart straightened up. "I have done my part after all, based on the facts gathered through intensive investigation, You are none other than the son of the late Duke of Linoria, as such, you are the sole heir to the valuables, accounts and whatnots that has been stored upon the death of the Duke and the Lady."

"You're wasting your time old man" Kuroro snickered, walking past the table, eyes at the distant view out the window.

"All you have to do is sign the papers so we could transfer everything to you"

"I do not belong to this society, I guess you may have known that I am from a place of nonexistence"

"And then sign the divorce papers so you can free your wife"

For a moment Kuroro thought he heard wrong, he paused, his dark eyes shot back at Bart, discerning the old man who seemed to be amused with the young man's reaction. Bart was, of course just saving the best for last.

"The son of the duke has been long betrothed to the daughter of a close family friend. Now this young woman was informed that she was already married, She wanted me to uh "double check". Now, everything has been confirmed. And all that we need is your signature"

"She sent you here?" Kuroro asked, mildly interrupting the old man, he said it fast.

"Yes.." Bart nodded, "She sent me here to have you sign the divorce papers so she, or most likely, the both of you would be free to wed"

Kuroro was speechless. _"A wife?_" he repeated.

"I know from where you grew up signing papers for legality is not really necessary, but I pray for your patience boy, let's just say it will always be a trend in this society" Bart's voice was richly accented and husky. It sounds both regal and fatherly at the same time

"I came all the way here just so you could tell me that I am a lost son of a late Duke and that I am married, what a colossal waste of time"

"Well, I cannot force you to believe something you don't want to believe in, no matter how valid or truthful it may seem.. for us at least" Bart surrendered. "I am just a messenger after all, if you choose to ignore things like this, then there is not much I can do, you'll just have to face the consequences I am afraid"

"What consequences?" Kuroro asked, surely if it were a threat, it seriously needs some working on.

"the all wrath of your wife" and with that, Bart took out his phone and started to dial a number, Kuroro watched him intently. He heard the ringing since the phone was on loud speakers. A few rings later..

"Hello?" it was a woman's voice. It was somber, gentle and sweet.

But Bart didn't reply and Kuroro suddenly found himself listening to her voice

"Hello?" she repeated.

No answer.

The woman made a deep sigh and then she hang up.

Bart silently laughed to himself seeing that Kuroro was deep in his thoughts.

"She is a little younger than you are but I am confident that you two will get a long well. A pity however, that she would only request for you to sign separation papers no?, perhaps I could arrange a meet?" The old man suggested.

"That's not necessary" Kuroro replied quickly. His eyes was cast down the floor. He was deep in thought.

"Very well then" Bart brushed the book dusts off his gray suit, feeling very accomplished. "If you ever you need to find _us_" distinctly elaborating us, "Here, the miss wanted you to have this, I presumed this would be for more private conversations" he almost laughed when he said. Gently placing the phone on the oaken table. "I best be off now, boy" Bart merrily said, "Til we meet again"

"Don't count on it" Kuroro replied.

...

That was a whole lot to take in one sitting, raven haired man thought. He was standing in front of the shelves placed right above the adorned fireplace. He was browsing through the titles engraved on the thick binds holding the books together. He suddenly stopped, eyes squinting when he read the title on the red bound book, amused with sudden display of irony. He laughed to himself silently as he pulled it out. "Surviving Marriage" he said, "this should be interesting.."

He read a few pages, scanned a few more, flipped a whole lot before finally putting it down on the center table. He then again caught sight of what Bart left him. A black sleek phone resting on top of the card, but what came to his surprise are the two rings joined together by a thin strand of silver necklace. He took the rings and examined it on his palm. Wedding rings obviously, made from white gold and somehow speckled with tiny sparkling diamonds.

"how inconvenient" he scoffed, he for one, did not believe in the whole idea of marriage. It would be subject to his ridicule and such, but who's he to judge? If it were true, he'd be a married man. The eyed the rings hatefully, this symbol, this token of love and uh _loyalty.. devotion_. Of all things he's not, all things he thought were silly. But if it were just rings, just normal regular rings, and not wedding rings, then these would be just fine for a casual suit.

It was awfully silent in the library that Kuroro's heart almost raised when the phone started ringing.


	2. Latin

Fac:, Eleria was homeschooled along with her cousins. Her father and some of his accomplices (professors and scholars from prestigious universities) took their time molding the Saint-Clair children. But due to the privileges of home, there were some programs which she wasn't able to finish.

Latin, for one. She hates it! Kuroro, on the other hand, enjoys it.

"You are not allowed to leave the house until you've finished your translation" Sumire, the next in line to be head of securities said with finality. She was petite and skinny, her deep red hair was cut neck-length, her skin was sun kissed and rosy, even the seemingly perfect facade cannot hide her commanding and confident character.

"But Kuroro and I are going out" Eleria reasoned out, trying to win Sumire's approval. Sumire made a deep sigh. Her father, the soon-to-be _former _head of securities, placed a huge responsibility on her shoulders. Being in a position such as, holds a great deal of honor, but the responsibilities are great and the tasks are herculean. Her jurisdiction not just falls within the manor home, but of course on all properties owned by the family Saint-Clair.

"Mr. Lucifer will see to it that you finish your work before you go out" Sumire replied, just as the same time Kuroro entered the library, both hands in his front pockets. Wearing a very handsome suit.

"You're in on this?" She glared at her husband.

Kuroro nodded, unimpressed. "Bart told me how far behind you are with your lessons.."

"I'm not that far off" she protested, "I just chose to discontinue some subjects, I can't see how I'm going to use Latin in an English speaking country"

"Est is amo is totus vicis?"_ Is she like this all the time?_ Kuroro smiled at Sumire polotely.

"Totus vicis"_ all the time_ Sumire nodded, she is of course in favor of Kuroro, she thinks he'd set a very good example for her young mistress. A handsome young man, very intelligent and bright, though at times, she feels anxious around him. She could tell, Kuroro is a dangerous man.

Eleria frowned, "Fine.." she did not understand a single thing of course, that's how bad she really is. "But!" she held out her clean sheet of paper for Sumire to see. "I'll only finish up to here" she pointed on the middle part of her paper.

Sumire shook her head in a disapproval.

"Here?" Eleria traced her finger a little further down, "It's almost at the end"

Sumire sighed, "That simply won't do."

"Don't worry about it, I'll make sure she finishes it all Sumire-san" Kuroro smiled at Sumire. He cannot believe his young wife would be haggling how far off she can finish with her paper work.

And with that Sumire, ever so thankful that she could at least trust the young man with Eleria's lessons, if not her life. She gave them both a polite bow before she went off to tend to other matters.

"There's no way I'm going to be able to finish this" Eleria warned Kuroro, she looked at her paper disappointingly, as if she already admitted to herself that she won't be able to this on her own, not in this lifetime.

"Yes, there is." Kuroro said, he was looking at the article she needs to translate, "It's very easy, I'm sure you'll be done in half an hour"

"Can you finish all these in half an hour?" Eleria's widened in disbelief, she suddenly remembered all the things she does during Latin. Pass paper messages with her cousin Anya, who also didn't finish Latin, but who's lucky enough to be away from home.

"I said you can finish this in half an hour, I on the other hand, can do it in.. let's say 7? 10? minutes." Kuroro smirked.

"Cocky" Eleria sneered. She let out a deep breath as she started translating Latin texts to English with the help of her cellphone with a translating application. Kuroro was watching her from where he was standing, with a good book at hand he'd occasionally check on her. Once or twice, he bent down to peer through her work from behind stealthily.

"That last one there is wrong" Kuroro suddenly said, Eleria almost jumped to her feet in fright. Upon realizing that her husband is reading her work, she leaned over to cover the papers on her desk.

"Don't look!" she cried

"Let me check it" Kuroro held out his hand, "there's something that needs to be corrected"

"I'll correct it myself" Eleria snapped, blushing. Of course she was lazing around, of course she wants to get this done with, so she's making some "short cuts" and of course she doesn't want her highly intelligent husband to be snooping around trying to correct her doctored masterpiece.

"Suit yourself then" Kuroro said with a timid smile on his face, he can tell Eleria is getting tired and restless. And he would want nothing more than to get her done with Latin, what better way to do it fast than to have him teach her. But how could he do that she wouldn't even let him look at her paper.

"This would take longer than what I would have expected" Kuroro said disappointingly.

"Who asked you to wait anyway" Eleria stuck her tongue out then smiling sheepishly.

He walked across the room, right through the exit.

"Where are you going?" Eleria asked.

"will try to get some fresh air, you want anything?" he looked back at her, and her heart raced all of a sudden. He was just smiling at her like that and he looked so fair and angelic.

Eleria shook her head no, "Just keep your nose off my paper" she flushed.

"Mn..." was what she could make out of what he said as he left.

It was really amusing, to him at least. Living with her, watching her like she was some kind of lab rat. He finds her incredibly strange and amusing, even better than reading an arcane book, definitely not boring.

... Half an hour later...

It was already mid afternoon, the warm rays of the sun peered through the high glass windows beautifully, the soft lights landing, illuminating the massive library. There she sat on the silken chair, peaceful.

Kuroro was staring at his lovely wife in disbelief, he shook his head with a grin. He left her for half an hour, in full confidence that she'd be finished by that time. Now, half an hour later, he finds her sleeping soundly on the train wreck she calls her Latin.

"You're unbelievable.." Kuroro mumbled to himself. He gently, soundlessly walked towards his slumbering wife. He stood right behind her. Her head was turned to the side, her tresses covering her pallid face, and underneath would be her unfinished paper.

He bent down and stopped the moment he caught her scent. It was lovely and gentle, the kind of scent he'll never get tired of. Slowly he brushed her long locks away from her face. Slightly feeling the softness of her cheeks with the tips of his fingers.

And so he stopped. He's never been this close to a girl before, let alone a sleeping girl. For real. He was looking at her, staring almost. She looks so serene and peaceful with her long lashes. her pink lips in direct contrast to her pallid face and slightly blushing cheeks.

She stirred and so he froze, even his breathing stopped as he suddenly came in to his senses. The moment he felt her falling deeper in her slumber, he took the opportunity to carefully pull her paper from underneath her cheek. After a few minutes of pull, stir and wait. He was able to get a full hold of what she calls her engineered masterpiece.

He forced himself not to laugh, clearly this would have been mistaken to be a child's work. Not only did she write in huge letters to eat up space but also she managed to cut off some sentences and delete some words. But he has to hand it to her, unless it's been examined carefully, no one would even notice.

He sat beside her as he took her pen and the article which she needs to translate. Using a new piece of paper, he started from the very beginning, finishing it a couple of minutes later. After which he took one last glance at his wife, not exactly the kind of date he has in mind. But whatever works. He placed a can of orange soda on her desk along with Kuroro's neatly piled genius work.

"You're really troublesome you know" Kuroro smiled. "and somehow, I seem to be in a really good mood today.."


End file.
